Weaving Creativity with Yolanda V. Acree by Tracey F. Johns
Writing and journaling have always been part of Yolanda V. Acree’s self-care practices. She’s been entwining nouns and verbs as an author and blogger much like her maternal ancestors have been weaving and knitting fibers and other textural materials over generations. Acree uses her writing as part of her journey looking inward, which began when she was a young girl growing up in Caroline County. Now she makes her home in Federalsburg with other family members nearby (she is the youngest of eight siblings) as they await the arrival of Acree’s baby, who is expected this spring and who may be among the family’s next generation of creative thinkers and artists. Acree says she became more serious about her writing through maturity and feeling more confident about transitioning her writing abilities as a blogger and author. She began her minimalist lifestyle blog in 2014 at yolandavacree. com, where she keeps an online diary and explores minimalism, with features on “The Hillbilly African” and “Melanin Habits.”
“Journaling as a kid made me more comfortable expressing myself and my emotions through writing,” says Acree. “Journaling requires taking things in, not commenting but absorbing it, sitting with it, and then writing it out to make sense of it. It’s a journey looking inward.” In 2017, she became the founder and one of the main content
113
